Chase Success in God’s Eyes + Beware Spiritual Pride

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Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 1 Corinthians 4:1-8.  Let’s go!

1 Corinthians 4:1-5 (NIV)
1  So then, men ought to regard us as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the secret things of God.
2  Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.
3  I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself.
4  My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me.
5  Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God.

On verses 1-5:  The people in the church in Corinth had their share of “Paul groupies” and “Apollos groupies”.  The Paul groupies loved to talk about how great Paul was and how much better he was than any other Christian leader.  They would boast about their allegiance to Paul and look with disdain at those who were led by other Christian leaders.  The Apollos groupies loved to do the same as it related to Apollos.   In response to all this, here Paul is basically saying, “Stop putting Apollos and me on a pedestal. 

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大衛受膏做猶大王

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〈撒母耳記〉下 2:4  猶大人來到希伯崙，在那裡膏大衛做猶大家的王。

閱讀經文: 〈撒母耳記〉下 2:1-32

大衛的逃亡生涯結束了，他的第一件事是求問神：“我上猶大的一個城去可以嗎？”掃羅死了，以色列地有什麼地方大衛不能去的嗎？大衛哪裡都可以去，但是他覺得自己是屬神的人，是神所膏的王，所以他必須聽從神的命令。這是何等的順服！然後他再求問神要上哪一個城去？神指示他上希伯崙，所以他就帶著妻子和跟隨他的人都帶到希伯崙。

當大衛到了希伯崙之後，我們就看見他以前所送的禮，所結交的朋友，現在都“發酵”了。猶大人來到希伯崙，在那裡膏大衛作王。大衛知道“建立關係”的重要性，所以他聽到基伊拉的城受困，他就去救基伊拉；在曠野時，他就幫助放羊的，免得他們被擄掠；他打勝仗得了掠物，就拿去送猶大的長老們。在逃亡的生涯中，大衛沒有因而自暴自棄，反而在每一個關鍵時刻去幫助別人，與人建立良好的關係。如此，當他住進希伯崙時，猶大人就承認了撒母耳曾經膏大衛做王這件事，同心接受大衛做他們的王。大衛一生中三次被膏為王，這是第二次，第三次是被膏為全以色列的王。

此時以色列大半的國土都已失去，約旦河以西只剩下一些猶大支派的地，例如希伯崙。掃羅的元帥押尼珥帶著殘兵敗將，和掃羅所剩的唯一兒子伊施波設，逃到了約旦河東的瑪哈念，立伊施波設為王。押尼珥難道不知道神已經藉著撒母耳膏大衛為王嗎？可是一旦伊施波設不做王，那麼他也當不成元帥。為了保住他自己的權勢，押尼珥必須立伊施波設為王。事實上，此時真正發號施令的是押尼珥，不是伊施波設，後者只是個傀儡。

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Don’t Be A People Worshipper

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Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 1 Corinthians 3:1-9.  Let’s go!

1 Corinthians 3:1-9 (NIV)
1  Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly–mere infants in Christ.
2  I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready.
3  You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men?
4  For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not mere men?
5  What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe–as the Lord has assigned to each his task.
6  I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow.
7  So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.
8  The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor.
9  For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.

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大衛寫〈弓歌〉

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〈撒母耳記〉下 1:25 英雄何竟在陣上仆倒，約拿單何竟在山上被殺！

閱讀經文：   〈撒母耳記〉下 1:1-27

就在大衛去追亞瑪力人，奪回自己和眾人的妻兒、財物和牲畜之際，也正是掃羅帶領以色列人和非利士人大戰之時，掃羅和約拿單都死了，以色列人大敗。大衛和跟隨他的人正在慶幸找回了家人和財物，而大衛可能會想起，非利士人和以色列人的戰爭不知進行得如何了？那時沒有電視，也沒有伊妹兒(email)或愛鳳(iphone)，消息傳得相當慢。到了第三天，才有人來討賞。

那是一個住在以色列人中的亞瑪力人，可能是作為僱佣兵而參戰的。他把掃羅臨死的情形告訴大衛，並取來掃羅頭上的冠冕、臂上的鐲子以作證據。他可能知道大衛已被膏為王，也知道掃羅追殺大衛的事，因為掃羅帶兵公開去追殺大衛；所以他認為大衛知道掃羅被殺一定很高興，因為大衛的仇敵死了，大衛就可以作王了。因此他覺得自己一定可以領到不少獎賞。但是出乎他意料之外，大衛不但不感激他，把他訓了一頓，還叫人把他殺了。

這就是大衛。可能有人覺得他矯情，掃羅死了，他豈有不高興的道理？他不是終於不必東躲西逃了嗎？但是大衛的過人之處就在於他敬畏神，所以他一直很尊重掃羅。他在弔掃羅和約拿單所寫的哀歌裡，把他對掃羅的尊重和對約拿單表露無遺。掃羅其實充滿嫉恨殘酷，但是大衛不理私人恩怨，只看掃羅在國中所做的。他稱掃羅為尊榮者、大英雄。掃羅起初的作為的確是以色列的尊榮者、大英雄。大衛記得掃羅為以色列人做過的好事。

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